Snowstorms and Injuries
by xXxAngelStormxXx
Summary: This is based off an au prompt I saw on Tumblr. It's a victorian au and involves snow and ice, injuries, and the winter holidays! I hope you like it! [Please remember to leave a review to let me know what you think!]
1. The Crash

**P.O.V. OF RONALD "RONNIE" RAYMOND.**

It was late one cold and frosty evening, and the I, Lord Ronald Raymond, was on my way back to my estate with my trusted butler and friend Francisco Ramon from my Aunt and Uncles castle. They are the only family I have left and at 22 they had taken it upon themselves to try and find me a young and beautiful bride. I was next in line for the throne as they could have no children of their own and am their only blood nephew.

They were the current King and Queen and their castle resided in what was dubbed Central City. They were fair rulers, but they believed that I could be even better when the time came for me to take the throne. King Joseph and Queen Martha always looked forward to that day, and as law of the land I would need a suitable bride before I could do so. This is one reason they, mostly Aunt Martha, tries so hard to find me a wife.

I sighed in relief as I watched buildings passing through the thick curtains in the windows. I do enjoy seeing my Aunt and Uncle, I really do. But I could do without the attempts to force me into courting the eligible daughters of some of their friends, the wealthy lords and ladies and even some monarchs from neighboring kingdoms. I know they only wanted what was best, and that they hoped I would find one of them desirable and find love with them. It isn't that I don't enjoy their company either, I simply do not envision myself courting and marrying any of them that I'd met thus far.

"That was quite a wonderful night, was it not?" Francisco smiled. At least my trustworthy friend had found the evening to be enjoyable.

"I suppose." I offered up a half smile, still lamenting about the evening. Suddenly my smile grew wider, "Did I or did I not see you conversing with the Lady Snart?"

My friend blushed and his eyes widened, "Lisa? I-Uh-I would— I- "He stammered.

I laughed at my butler's reaction to my bringing up the beautiful younger sister of the incredibly wealthy Lord Leonard Snart. I know that Francisco had strong feelings towards this particular girl. "Do not worry Cisco, my friend, I will not say anything to her brother. I know how much you have come to care for her, and I really do not wish you dead. In fact, I think it is quite wonderful that you have found someone you care for on such a deep level." I am glad to have a friend close like Cisco, even though he insists that we call him by that odd and informal nickname.

My confession seems to shock him, but his bewildered look quickly turns into one of happiness. His grins widely, "Thank you, my Lord."

"Please, Cisco, call me Ronnie. I do not mind at all, and especially so since you insist on having such an informal nickname for yourself. Also, I think she is quite taken with you. I overheard her say as much to some other girls at the ball tonight." I half whispers the last part with a small smirk playing on my lips.

"Really?" He pumps his fist in a celebratory fashion. "Yes!" He opens the window enough to lean himself out of it slightly and yells, "SHE FANCIES ME! SHE REALLY FANCIES ME! YES!" effectively sharing his joy with anyone near enough to hear his loud voice, and the driver of the coach Bartholomew Allen.

"Get back in here you idiot!" I laughs and pull him back inside by his tailed jacket as I hear Bartholomew say, "What the heck Cisco! I'm trying to drive here!" "We do not need anyone else thinking that you are odd. What would happen if they happened to share this information with the Lady Lisa?" I raised his eyebrows as I teased my friend.

Cisco grimaced, "You're right. That would be quite unfortunate." He leans only his head this time out the window, "Sorry Barry, that was my bad."

Suddenly the carriage jerks and Cisco is thrown back into the door on the other side. He groans as he tries to get back up but he is thrown to the floor this time I am thrown forward as well. "What's going on Barry?!" Cisco shouts, but Barry doesn't have time to answer before the carriage slides and we all hear the sounds of the horses frightened whinnies and the sound of skidding before we hear a loud crash and suddenly everything is still once more.

"Oh no. Oh no. Oh no!" Barry's voice is the first thing I hear and he curses before I hear the sound of his feet hitting the ground, the snow crunching beneath his boots. "Please don't be dead. Please, oh please!" At this Cisco and I exchange alarmed looks and quickly rush to exit the coach together. "What happened Barry?" Cisco inquires again when he locates him through the thick of the heavy snow.

"Who is that?" Cisco is the first to move, and he kneels beside Barry and the person on the ground.

"I don't know, but we've hit her. She's hurt." Barry's eyes are wide and he is clearly worried about the girl lying in the snow.

I move and half kneels next to them to see, and find myself looking at the most beautiful girl I've ever laid eyes on. Shaking my head, he clears my thought and focuss on the problem at hand.

"Can we get her medical help?" I look hopefully to both of my friends, they train in various sciences in their free time whereas I have trained only in the mechanical sciences. I have always made sure my staff has both time, energy, and some money so that they have the ability to pursue their hopes and dreams.

"I- "Barry pauses, "I think so." He seems unsure, but I trusts his friends and I would feel absolutely horrid if this poor woman were to die because of me.

"Come on, let's get her to the manor. We have a medical professional on the premises and it's far closer than any medical facility." my voice is strong, as it is when I does not wish for anyone to question my decisions and both of them nod is compliance.

"I am so dreadfully sorry miss, this is all my fault. We're going to help you, but this will hurt." I soften my voice as I speak to the seemingly unconscious woman, feeling as though I should address her. Carefully I pick her up, trying not to jostle her as I bring her into the carriage. Since the seats are not long enough for her to lay down, I hold her in my lap, and pray to whoever will listen that this poor woman will live to see the next day. That she will live to see Christmas with whatever family she had, that she would still live many years and not pass this evening on my account.


	2. Doctor Stein

**P.O.V. OF RONALD "RONNIE" RAYMOND.**

Upon arrival at the estate Cisco bursts forth from the carriage, even before it has stopped and runs towards the wing of the estate that the medical doctor resides in, calling for help as he runs.

While Cisco runs I carefully pull the young and beautiful girl from the carriage with me, holding her close to myself as I had in the carriage. Her skin was frozen and her clothes were tattered. Barry walked in front of me and pulled open the doors and held it open so that I could easily pass inside to the warmth of the entryway.

Immediately I am greeted by both Cisco and the medical doctor, Doctor Martin Stein. He was trained in many sciences, and even chose to teach them at the local university. He and his wife Clarissa had been good friends to my parents and I grew up knowing them as Martin Stein had also been my family's personal doctor since I was young.

"Martin. Please help." Desperation leaked into my voice as I begged the older man.

"Get her into a bedroom, I'll do everything I can." With that we hurried to a guest room and the Doctor made me and the other men leave the room so he could examine her. The only other person allowed to stay in the room being his wife Clarissa.

We all stood right outside of the door, pacing the hallway, waiting to hear what could be done to help the poor girl.

Hours passed and we were exhausted and fighting to stay awake, sitting on the ground barely talking as we waited. As I was beginning to nod off the door opened suddenly and immediately I was alert and on my feet in two seconds.

"Will she be alright? Can you help her Doctor? Please tell me she's not dead." Our questions overlapped as we interrupted each other in our individual quests to gain answers from the older man.

"I've done everything I can, but I'm afraid I cannot do much. I can make her as comfortable as possible, but I do not expect her to live long. I'm sorry Ronald." He clasped his hand on my shoulder, a look of sadness and pity on his features.

"Thank you Doctor Stein. Clarissa." I nodded my head in gratefulness, "That is all I can ask of you."

"I am truly sorry that, even I, cannot perform miracles." He shook his head, "I wish I could Ronald, I wish I could. Since there is nothing more I can do this eve, I bid you good night." He looks downcast as he and his wife take their leave.

I peers into the room, my lips in a grim line, "I cannot leave her alone. Especially not when she is likely to die."

Barry is already inside, having hurried to see the girl once the doctor finished his first sentences. He is sitting in a chair he pulled by the bed, leaning over with a worried look on his face.

"Barry? Are you alright?" Cisco asks gently, seeing that he looks so distressed.

"No Cisco. I'm not. Do you remember when we were children?"

"Yes, of course. You shall have to be specific with your question though."

Barry sighs and rakes his hand through his messy hair, "Do you remember when we were children attending the local schoolhouse?"

"Yes. Why are you asking me about this now?" Cisco pulls a face, concentrating on the memories.

"Do you remember Caitlin Snow? She was the only girl who attended the schoolhouse, her family had bribed everyone they could so that she was allowed to join us. Do you remember her Cisco?"

"Of course, I remember Caitlin, she was our best friend Barry." Cisco whispers sadly. "We were all very close until her family lost their money and could no longer pay off the right people to keep her in the schoolhouse. We never saw her since." His shoulders slumped as he recalled. "I heard her parents did not think she would be of any value to them as she was not a boy and they could no longer afford to get her educated and threw her out onto the streets. All they cared about was themselves. They only wanted to make money off of her and that's the only reason they sent her to the schoolhouse in the first place. Those two are insufferable, they're- they're—"his rant is cut off by Barry before he can begin to swear.

"Cisco." Barry shakes his head, "I couldn't tell when we were outside in the dark and she had dirt and blood on her face, but this IS her, this is Caitlin Snow. And it's all my fault that she's injured and going to die."

I look between the two of my friends, my confusion ebbing as they continued their conversation. "It's not your fault Barry." I interrupt.

"Yes, it is!" He shoots to his feet, raising his voice and nearly yelling as he cries. "I am the driver, and I was directing that carriage. It's all my fault." His voice breaks and a few tears escape his eyes.

"No, it's not Barry. The roads are icy and you can barely see through the snow, you did the best you could." We both move to comfort our friend.

As we grasp his shoulders, in a comforting gesture, I hear a groan from the bed.

"I'm not dead yet you idiot. It's going to take a lot more than running me over to kill me." I whip around to see the girl has woken up and is grimacing as she attempts to sit up.

"No no no no, don't do that." Barry reaches out and holds her shoulders down gently. "You really cannot get up, you are in no condition to do so." He shakes his head at her.

"Owwwww." She groans, "I cannot believe you hit me with a carriage Bartholomew Allen." She glares playfully as she uses his full name even though she is in pain.

"How do you feel Caitlin?" Cisco cuts in, wanting to talk to his longtime friend. She slowly turns her head to look at him as he has moved to stand on the other side of the bed, wincing slightly in pain as she does so.

"Cisco?" She questions, "Did you seriously let Barry hit me with a carriage?" she continues to tease her friends, in an attempt, to lighten the mood.

"I- no- I would never." He stumbles over his words and she lets out a laugh before groaning again in pain. "I know Cisco, I'm just giving you a hard time. Oh, wow that hurts." Her eyes scrunch shut as she is hit by a wave of pain from the laughter.

Her head lolls back to the other side and I finally have a clearer view of her face and am looking into her eyes, which are beautiful and chocolatey in color. My breath catches in my throat as I stare.

"Where am I?" her eyes dart around the room before settling back on my face. "And who are you may I ask?" Her voice makes my heart jump into my throat and I feel like I can barely speak when she addresses me this time.

"Uh, I-uh- "I cough to clear my throat before attempting to speak again, "My name is Ronald Raymond, but please call me Ronnie." Her smile is beautiful and I find myself pausing as I stare at her.

"It's lovely to meet you, uh, Ronnie, I only wish it were under better circumstances. I am afraid it will take some getting used to, addressing you so informally. Would you mind so terribly If I call you Ronald until I feel comfortable addressing you differently?" She shyly asks me.

"Yes, of course. You may call me whatever you wish Miss Snow. And as to your other question, you are at my manor here in Central City. It was far closer than any medical facilities in the area and we have a doctor who lives on the estate." I pause again, deciding on my next words.

"I would like to apologize, we were on our way back to the manor when the snowstorm worsened and the ice on the roads did not help. I am truly sorry that you were injured on our account. We are going to do everything we can to help you recover, I insist upon it."

She looks surprised, "Oh. Why, thank you for helping me Ronald, you really do not have to. It was no fault of yours and your generosity is very much appreciated. And Ronald? Caitlin will do just fine if you please." She looks grateful as she smiles at me and I begin to feel worse, for it really is my fault and she would not be in this situation if not for me.

"Of course, Miss Snow- "I pause a moment, "-uh, Miss Caitlin." I correct myself. "We should allow you to get some rest, I shall have breakfast sent up to you in the morning and will send someone to purchase some extra clothing for you to wear while you are here."

"Oh, why thank you. That is very kind." She smiles at me again and I gesture to Barry and Cisco to leave. Before I leave the room completely, I stop in the doorway and turn to look at her once more.

"Oh, and Miss Caitlin." she raises her eyes to meet mine once more, "Yes Ronald?"

"You are welcome to stay here as long as you'd like." Before she can refuse I turn out the lighting in the room, "I bid you goodnight Miss Caitlin. I shall check on you in the morning." I smile at her before I promptly close the door.

I turn and see both Cisco and Barry giving me similar looks.

"What?" I raise an eyebrow at the both of them.

"Please, do not hurt our friend more than she already has been. She deserves better than what she's been dealt in life. "Good night Ronnie." Cisco is the one to speak up, and they both leave together and we part ways for the evening.

I scrunch my nose in confusion at their odd behavior. I sigh and decide to figure that out later, I truly am exhausted and should like to be well rested when I go to check on her in the morning.


	3. Good Morning

**P.O.V. OF MISS CAITLIN SNOW.**

As I begin to awake I find myself in pain once more, but still wrapped up in warm blankets instead of tattered rags that do little to protect against the cold of winter winds and storms. I grimace as I shift underneath the plush blankets draped over my torso.

Trying to not move much, lest I find more pain from doing so, I only move my eyes as I look about the room, recalling the events of last night. I squeeze my eyes shut as I remember the pain of being hit by a carriage, enough that I had passed out a short while after.

A short knock on the door startles me and I jump, and promptly groan in pain from the sudden movement. Immediately the door opens and I am greeted by the Lord Ronald Raymond, who looks concerned. "Are you all right Miss Caitlin?" He moves quickly into the room, somehow managing to not drop the tray he carries.

"Yes, I am quite all right. You've just startled me. I admit I did jolt from the surprise."

"I am quite sorry- "he begins to apologize and I cut him off, "No, no. It's not your fault. Anyone could have surprised me with a knock on the door. I was simply lost in my thoughts and did not expect it, that's all." I offer up a smile from my position on the bed.

He bows his head slightly in a nod, as if in agreement to my words. I doubt he wants to pick a fight over something so trivial. He sets the tray down and I see it is filled with various breakfast foods and beverages, all of which had been favorites of mine as a child. "As I promised, I requested breakfast to be made, and since I did not know what you would like I had Barry and Cisco request everything they recalled you liked as a child." I am touched by the fact that they remembered and that Ronald went to such lengths to make sure I had something good to eat when I awoke.

"I, I don't know what to say. Except, thank you for your kind consideration." I smile gratefully at him, still unused to any real attention. It's been years since I was warmly welcomed into a home, slept in a bed given to be and had a proper meal. I am no longer accustomed to any of this, nor am I accustomed to asking for, or receiving, help of any kind. I am used to being alone, but it feels good to have someone watching over me. Even though it is because I am injured.

"Why, you're most welcome Miss Caitlin." His voice is warm and smile inviting. I know he feels something awful for his carriage hitting me, but I know it was an accident and no fault of theirs. He makes a move to stand back up from the chair to leave and I find I do not want him to go just yet and words leave my mouth before I can think.

"There is no way that I could possibly eat all of this on my own, would you care to stay and share it with me Ronald?"

He looks mildly surprised but the look is gone before I can dwell on it too heavily, he smiles at me once more and eases back into his chair. "Why of course, it would be my pleasure to have breakfast with you."


	4. Carriage Fixing and Discussions

**P.O.V. of Sir Francisco "Cisco" Ramon.**

"So, how's the carriage repair coming along?" My voice seems loud as I walk up to stand next to Barry, in the semi-warmth of the carriage hall and stables. Thankfully, they were well built, enough so that they were warmer and even nicer than most buildings like them in my opinion.

With a sigh, Barry answered me. "It's going well. I feel horrible about it, yet they are not allowing me to help fix it."

I snort, and attempt to hide my laugh, "Well, mechanics aren't really your forte. That would be closer to Ronnie's strengths, and if he wasn't breakfasting with Caitlin I have no doubt he'd be out here instead."

"Still, I'd like to be of some help." He shakes his head, "Wait, did you say Ronnie's breakfasting with Caitlin?" He raises an eyebrow and nods his head in thought after I reaffirmed that I had indeed said so.

"Ever the host, is he not?" He smiles, almost mischievously.

"Well, I suppose so. After all, he does feel quite guiltily about the accident yesterday." I reply with a shrug.

"That cannot be the only reason he's personally dining with her, I am sure he could have sent one of us just as easily." We exchange contemplative look, "I admit there is the possibility of ulterior motives." I acknowledge with another nod, "However, we should not assume too much of the situation. We may as well ask him, after all we've already managed to near threaten our master over our old friend as if we were her brothers. Remember?"

Barry shakes his head, "Yeah. That's on you, Mr. 'don't hurt our friend'." He gives a short laugh and I can't help but join in.

"Yeah, I know. But it's not like you were going to speak up first." I let out a snort and he sheepishly smiles at me, "I could have, and probably would, but you beat me to it Cisco."

"We should go check on her Barry, see how she is. Especially seeing as we are currently useless here." This time it is Barry who lets out a snort.

"You mean make sure Ronnie's following proper etiquette around Caitlin?" His eyebrows are raised, but he is smiling and I know the same idea was floating about in his head too.

"Well, I mean, that's just an added bonus." I throw my arms up in defense. "But yes, that's quite true. We should watch for that as well." ne


End file.
